


They're Finally Over

by SpicyGoddess



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Gen, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25356652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyGoddess/pseuds/SpicyGoddess
Summary: "The mission, the nightmares. They're finally over." The words repeated over and over in his mind. Words that were simple in their meaning, but had meant so much more. Words that carried a weight he didn’t understand.
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	They're Finally Over

Step. Step. Step. Step, turn. Step. Step. Step. Step. Turn. 

The hand in his hair gripped tighter for a moment as his mind replaid the scene for what felt like the thousandth time. What probably was the thousandth time if Anakin were being honest with himself.

The sight of Five’s eyes widening in shock as he realized there was now a hole in his chest. A hole put there by one of his own brothers no less. Hearing the wheezing gasps of air as Fives spoke with Rex, his voice fading in strength, but as loud as a canon to all who surrounded him. Feeling Fives slip away in the sickening way he had felt his brothers fade away- or any cases suddenly go cold on the battlefield.

"The mission, the nightmares. They're finally over." The words repeated over and over in his mind. Words that were simple in their meaning, but had meant so much more. Words that carried a weight he didn’t understand, but Rex...

His mind zeroed in on the way Rex's body seemed to tense. The way he seemed to understand exactly what Five’s was saying. The way he understood something that Anakin hadn’t even known existed. His men had nightmares.

And none had ever once mentioned them. Something however, nagged at him, telling him, yelling at him even that these weren’t just nightmares. 

He growled, hand flying from his hair back down to his side as he stomped toward the door, hitting the panel to open it harder than was necessary. He didn’t notice.

The trip into the barracks wasn’t a particularly long one, and it was one that Anakin had hardly remembered taking as he entered, inquiring of the Captain's whereabouts to the first man he ran into. He got the information quickly, with an additional nervous glance to his back that he could feel as he walked to where he had been directed. 

Rex, had been looking over something on a data pad, what it was, Anakin didn’t know or particularly care. He hadn't intended to approach so aggressively, he hadn't. But one of his men had died while he had done nothing. One of his men seemed to know more than he was letting on.

Rex for his credit, didn’t seem nervous as Anakin backed him into a side room, anger practically radiating off of him. He had plenty of reason to fear him, having seen him at his worst before. He understood more than most- but Anakin thought, perhaps Rex should be scared of him.

He had done nothing when one of his very own men- one of his friends had been shot in front of them. Rex knew this, he had been right next to him, yelling at Fives not to shoot, while Anakin stood beside him, silent.

After that Rex would have been right to fear him. He would have every right to resent him. Instead he stood calmly, expectantly in those seconds between being cornered in the room and Anakin speaking.

"What was he talking about." He demanded without preamble, tone rougher, more demanding than he had intended. A look of confusion passed the captains face.

"Sir?" 

"The nightmares. What was he talking about Rex? What nightmares?"

Rex's eyes seemed to narrow at that, almost defensive Anakin realized. "General, we all have nightmares about the war." His tone was calm as he spoke though, despite the sudden...sudden expression that Anakin could only describe as distrust. That was fine. He deserved that distrust. He had let Fives die.

"That's not what he meant." Anakin stated flatly. Was it fair to be arguing something he didn’t fully understand? He mentally shook himself, of course it was fair. He was only trying to understand. Though he recognized it was aggressive. That didn’t really matter though.

"Sir, if I may inquire, what do you believe these, 'nightmares' are, if they are not simply nightmares?" 

Anakin thought. The nightmares. Something that he knew Rex understood, the way his body tensed made that clear to him. Rex wasn’t the only one though, Fox had seemed to know, the look in his eyes spoke volumes. But, that could have been because he had delivered the killing shot. However, that would have been too easy of a conclusion. 

Anakin made a frustrated noise, stepping out of Rex's space, to begin pacing in the limited space of the side room. "There is something going on here, and you're not telling me the whole truth."

At that Rex's frowned slightly, but then his eyes softened, as if only just then realizing something. "There is nothing to tell, General. The death of a brother has hit us all hard. I believe it is just now catching up to you." His tone was gently, the polar opposite of that Anakin responded with.

"No no, that isn't it!" Anakin threw his hands up in exasperation. "You're hiding something from me. Clones are not supposed to get nightmares." His final sentence had come out as a hiss. A tone that he had never used with the Captain, or any of his troops before.

Rex's frown deepened, eyes losing the soft, almost pitying look they had held a second before. "Just because my brothers and I were engineered for this war, does not mean we are unaffected by it, General. Now if you'll excuse me, my men need me at the moment." Rex turned to leave, not waiting for dismissal as over the years he had become used to protocol being slack with Anakin.

"Captain wait." Rex turned to look at him, but when Anakin failed to continue, he sighed. 

A solid hand landed on Anakin's shoulder. "General. You should get some rest, Five's death has hit us all hard." The hand squeezed for a brief moment before slipping away as Rex returned to the barracks.  
-  
Anakin didn't get much rest that night. He had tried to listen to the Captain, but the image of a shaking pair of twin pistols pointing toward a blurred, almost familiar figure had burnt itself into his mind.

**Author's Note:**

> So I watched this arc for the first time like four days ago and in the midst of trying not to cry in front of my dad, I got an idea. I kinda wanted to explore the idea of the clones all having nightmares about killing their generals and friends and eventually one of them (probably Rex tbh) spilling the beans to an Anakin who really wants to know what exactly Five's was talking about. I feel like that could be a pretty long fic that I don't really have the commitment to write so this was born instead lol.


End file.
